1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image recording/reproducing system including an image recording apparatus for acquiring an image in a particular fashion intended by the photographer (an image conforming to a picture-drawing intention) and also including an image reproducing apparatus for reproducing the image acquired by the image recording apparatus after processing the image in a desired fashion.
2. Description of Related Art
Heretofore, such a technique has been proposed for easily obtaining an image conforming to a picture-drawing intention of the photographer, such as a flowing shooting or a portrait shooting.
For example, in a camera disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Sho 58-198031 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,536,074), a plurality of icons indicative of various picture-drawing intentions are displayed on a display device of the camera, so that when the photographer selects a desired icon among the plurality of icons, an aperture value and a shutter speed which are adapted for attaining a predetermined picture-drawing effect corresponding to the desired icon are automatically determined by the camera.
In this known technique, if the photographer selects an icon corresponding to the flowing shooting, the camera sets a shutter speed considered to be adapted for attaining a flowing shooting effect, and then calculates a correct aperture value from the shutter speed, the sensitivity of a film and the luminance of an object, thereby determining an exposure condition.
Further, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 5-232562, there is disclosed a camera which determines whether or not the camera is in the flowing shooting state on the basis of the output of an angular velocity sensor incorporated in the camera. In this camera, if it is determined that the camera is in the flowing shooting state, in accordance with the output of the angular velocity sensor and the focal length information of a photo-taking lens, the shutter speed is automatically set to a value which is adapted for attaining the flowing shooting effect.
Also, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 8-43870, there is disclosed a camera having the function of camera-shake correction (the image-stabilizing function), in which, while a camera-shake correction in a particular direction is made operative, a camera-shake correction in a direction perpendicular to the particular direction is made inoperative, thereby achieving the compatibility between the camera-shake correction and the flowing shooting effect.
In addition, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Sho 62-32577 (corresponding to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/321,019 filed on Oct. 6, 1994), there is disclosed a technique of processing a photographed picture by using an image processing parameter which was set when the picture was taken, thereby achieving a particular effect such as a cross screen filtering effect by means of image processing.
However, almost all cameras according to any known technique described above are designed to achieve an image in a desired fashion by selecting a proper exposure condition when a picture is taken, and, when an image is reproduced, any known technique does not perform a process to obtain a high-quality image in a particular fashion in which the intention of the photographer is correctly reflected.
In the technique according to the above-mentioned Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 5-232562, when an object moves at a low speed, a flowing shooting effect may be produced for a background image by selecting a low shutter speed. However, there is the possibility that the low shutter speed causes the camera-shake or the degradation in picture quality for a main object.
Further, in a reproducing apparatus for reproducing an image according to any conventional technique, a special effect technique is merely used in the stage of reproduction of an image, so that a problem arises in that an original picture-taking intention of the photographer cannot be appropriately realized.
More specifically, in the above-mentioned Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Sho 62-32577 (corresponding to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/321,019 filed on Oct. 6, 1994), any technique for easily separating a main object from a background on an image is not disclosed, and, therefore, it is not possible to perform a particular process on only one of a main object and a background as is required to achieve a flowing shooting effect, although it is possible to perform a process over the entire image as is the case with a cross screen filtering.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, there is provided an image recording/reproducing system comprising recording means for setting a predetermined photo-taking condition according to selection of a photo-taking mode and recording an image on a recording medium in the photo-taking condition and for also recording information of the selected photo-taking mode on the recording medium, and image processing means for performing a process of varying the image on the basis of the photo-taking mode information recorded on the recording medium, so that it is possible to, at the time of a photo-taking operation, perform the photo-taking operation in such a photo-taking condition as to attain an effect conforming to a picture-drawing intention, and it is possible to, also at the time of an image reproducing operation, perform such an image processing as to emphasize the picture-drawing intention.
The above and further aspects and features of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments thereof taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.